NEW YORK -- Even with so much on the line for his franchise, Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob managed to stay calm and collected much of Wednesday night.

Then, the pingpong balls that would decide the first three picks in the NBA lottery - and in some ways the fate of the Warriors' future - began to whirl in a plastic drum. That's when Lacob's nerves bubbled to the surface.

"This was my first time in the back room at the lottery, and it will be my last," Lacob said. "Oh God, it was horrible. I didn't know if I could take it."

The Warriors maintained their pre-lottery slot at No. 7 and thus kept their pick, which would have gone to Utah had it dropped even one slot. But the event didn't unfold without dramatic moments and ensuing reactions from Lacob.

A Chronicle reporter was one of three journalists invited to view the lottery along with one representative from each team. Lacob was the most vocal representative during the process, which played out about an hour before the results were revealed during ESPN's broadcast.

Before the lottery, the 14 non-playoff teams were assigned a series of four-digit numbers with the worst team (Charlotte) getting 250 number combinations (out of 1,000) and the best team (Houston) getting five combinations. The Warriors had 36 chances.

Fourteen numbered pingpong balls (the number needed to create 1,000 unique combinations) were then released into a plastic drum, where they spun for 20 seconds. One at a time, four numbered balls were pulled from the drum to make a four-digit number.

When one of New Orleans' 137 number combinations matched the first set of pingpong balls drawn, Lacob did little more than look to the heavens in thanks. The Hornets were already ahead of the Warriors with a pre-lottery draft position of fourth, so they didn't displace the Warriors.

After Charlotte won the No. 2 pick, he sat up in his seat and quietly said, "Please, one more."

Lacob knew that he needed to survive only one more set of numbers without a team slotted Nos. 8-14 leaping into the top three for the Warriors to keep the pick. Another New Orleans number was drawn third, so they had to spin again.

"Oh, my God," Lacob said through a huge nervous smile. "Oh, my Lord."

Charlotte came up next, so the third pick had to be drawn for a third time. Finally, a Washington number combination was chosen, and Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld turned to Lacob from a nearby table.

"You guys ended up OK, right?" Grunfeld asked. Lacob said, "This is huge, but it's unbelievable to have to watch this stupid thing."

The NBA takes the lottery process and the secrecy of its results seriously. Before the journalists or team reps were allowed to witness the pingpong ball drawings, all communication devices were given to league officials and placed into large envelopes that were sealed.

Since he couldn't talk to his staff until the lottery results aired, Lacob turned instead to the other representatives who would spend the next hour in quarantine.